Mixed-Use, Mixed-Income Project Catalytic for Chicago Neighborhood

A mixed-use, mixed-income development has revitalized a city block in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side.

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Darris Lee Harris

Shops and Lofts at 47 is a mixed-use commercial and mixed-income… Read More Shops and Lofts at 47 is a mixed-use commercial and mixed-income residential development that is aiding the revitalization on Chicago's South Cottage Grove Avenue and 47th Street commercial corridors. The Community Builders developed the residential component, while Skilken and Troy Enterprises developed the commercial component.

Darris Lee Harris

The development is anchored by a Walmart Neighborhood Market, th… Read More The development is anchored by a Walmart Neighborhood Market, the Bronzeville neighborhood's first grocery store in decades.

Darris Lee Harris

The development serves 96 families of all incomes. Seventy-two u… Read More The development serves 96 families of all incomes. Seventy-two units are income-restricted to households earning less than 30% of the area median income, with 28 being public housing replacement units. The remaining units are market rate.

Darris Lee Harris

The units include Energy Star appliances and contemporary finish… Read More The units include Energy Star appliances and contemporary finishes. Lease-up of the project was completed within 45 days of each building's completion, and the property maintains a waiting list.

The Shops and Lofts at 47 provides 96 residential units and 55,000 square feet of retail, which includes the neighborhood’s first grocery store in decades.

“For this underserved community in Bronzeville, this is a statement project on a key neighborhood corridor,” says Lee Pratter, senior project manager of The Community Builders (TCB), the nonprofit affordable housing developer behind the residential component.

Seventy-two of the units are set aside for households earning 60% or less of the area median income. Of those, 28 are public housing replacement units, in which households pay no more than 30% of their income for rent. The remaining 24 units are market rate.

The retail component, which was developed by Skilken and Troy Enterprises, also is providing a boost for the neighborhood, which had suffered from the loss of retail during the 1960s and 1970s and had been considered a food desert.

Now, a Walmart Neighborhood Market provides convenient and healthy food options. Additional retail includes a Subway, an AT&T store, and a Burger King.

“Having a high-quality grocery store with fresh fruits and vegetables is wonderful for the neighborhood’s residents,” says Pratter. “This is a neighborhood not just aspiring to have a residential and commercial mix, but for retailers and other developers to show that this location works. This area is a great location for families to live, stores to open, and businesses to invest.”

The $45.4 million development, completed in October, was among the first in Chicago to include both New Markets Tax Credits and low-income housing tax credits, which was made possible by a legally separate ownership through a vertical subdivision. To fill a capital gap, TCB provided Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 funds from the award it had received from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2010. The project also received significant support from the city of Chicago and the Chicago Housing Authority.